Summer vacation

The month of July took us on vacations to Michigan and Carolina Beach, and both were a great success. We flew to Michigan for the first time since Ruby was a baby. After her first year we just didn't think she would fare too well on an airplane but this year she was rip rarin to go! For two months leading up to departure she would ask about every picture of an airplane she saw, "Is that the airplane we're going on to Gramma Pat's?" The correct answer is always yes, to which Ruby would always reply, "Whaoow." On to the photos (click to enlarge).

Ready for take off!

Waiting to lick the beater

This is at an indoor water park in Boyne Falls, MI - it was in the 50's outside

Visiting my paternal grandfather

Heading to the Boyne City 4th of July parade

Grandpa Jerry, Ruby, Oscar and Grandma Pat waiting for the fireworks to start

Gardening with Grandma Pat

Enjoying some Michigan cherries

Relaxing on the deck of our beach condo

Waiting to get on the ferris wheel (stuffed animal ever-present)

In the surf

water retreats

and returns

A church was setting up a puppet show and there was music playing. Ruby stepped into her stage persona and started to dance, emphatically.

As she would say, "Thank yooou, thank you very much!"

My little running blog

I've got this side-blog, see, and I feel a little funny hiding it. So here it is:

http://kirstenrunninaround.blogspot.com/

It's nothing exciting, believe me, but I've found it's the best way for me to keep track of my running. I joined a running team for the summer and we're expected to keep up with our miles. I sit down at the computer several times a day so I know I can easily update things there. So, if reading dull running blogs is your thing, go for it!

In the garden 2009, volume I

I had planned a long, overall catch-up post, but just wasn't feeling it. So, onto the garden.

This spring I finally put up some deer fencing. It's not gorgeous, but it's not bad looking either. I used green stakes along with mom's bamboo to extend the length. Then I attached pieces of deer fencing (sheer, thin, black plastic stuff). It wasn't too hard and I got a lot of the garden surrounded. The deer of course have nibbled on some things (maybe only beans?) in the non-fenced part of the garden. I hope to put up some semi-fencing around that section of the garden later.

It's been a wet spring and while I've been able to keep the deer away, the slugs have been at it! I don't want to resort to nasty chemicals, but they've done a number on a lot of things. I could never get any cuke seedlings to get past one inch, and I lost many (though not all) zuke/squash seedlings. Most sadly, though, was the damage they did to the peppers. I can never have enough peppers (great for freezing - goulash, etc.) and probably bought about 20 plants. I may have 8 left? Sigh. They're not such an issue now that it's consistently hot and dry but I'll have to plan better for this next year.

What have we been eating? Early on - spinach, lettuce and peas. And last year's collards. Lots of herbs - I'm especially using a lot of parsley, chives and basil. And oregano. I've picked about 3 sungolds and a handful of raspberries. Just yesterday picked the first small handful of green beans. I may be most excited about my leeks! I have been hearing about schwester's great Texas leek patch but the first time I grew them they just got huge, made flowers and died. These ones, though are doing what I expected - making little side-babies that look like they'll just become part of a self-perpetuating leek patch. I threw a few into a potato and green pepper medley I made last night (cooked in foil on the grill). My only regret is not growing them much, much earlier. They were so good.

Other things in the garden: those 8 or so pepper plants (yellow and red bell and banana), about 4 varieties of tomato (nothing exciting - Early Girl, Better Boy, Pink Girl, Lemon Boy, Sungold), some okra, a few hills of squash/zuke, onions (that didn't get very big - I'm going to let them be and see what they do), New Kuroda carrots.

Oh, and I did plant 5 blueberry bushes this spring. Three were very cheap from some booster club, and two were pricier ones from Southern States. One of the SS ones is dying so I plan to return it. (Second fruit I've bought from SS that has died - I had a asian pear tree that actually did a similar thing - leaves that blacken and fall off, etc, til the whole thing is dead).

We leave for Michigan on Monday, so it'll be fun to see what's going on when we get back! Ripe tomatoes perhaps?

What a little nap will do

Dialogue between Ruby and myself, shortly after she woke up from a nap.

Ruby: "I think it's beautiful."

Me: "What."

Ruby: "The whole world."

Sport Ruby

A couple of weeks ago Ruby and I went to Tar Heel Town, which is a play area set up for kids during home football games. This day was UNC's spring football game and I think all of the spring sports had home games too, so the university was trying to get a big festive weekend together. Tar Heel Town was not well attended even though it was a much bigger version than usual with even more bouncy play stations, so we pretty much had the run of the place. She got to experience a multitude of sports, often with extensive one-on-one instruction from the attendant. To boot, they had free biscuits, cotton candy, snow cones, and swag - it was like being Michael Jackson in Neverland, but no monkey. Here's some photos.

One of many trips down the slide.

Learning the finer points of lacrosse.

Then on to the field and firing into the net - GOAL!

Break for some face painting...

and some cotton candy!

Shooting some hoops (this comes naturally to her of course).

A couple whacks at a ball suspended by blowing air.

The wind up...

and she brings the heat!

Wrapping it up with her friend Sophia.

In Like a Lion!

Another blast of winter snow this morning kept me and Ruby home while Kirsten had an abbreviated work day.

Morning

Looking down Bradley

Williams Circle

Backyard

Blooms from the yard (and stir-crazy child)

A lovely day

Daran may have mentioned this already, but January 20, 2009 was a great day. Besides the obvious (new president) we also received our first snow of the season. This kept all 3 of us home to relax and enjoy the snow, while also staying glued to the TV as much as we could. Ruby was more interested in counting her books than she was in Doris Kearns Goodwin's commentary, but hey, she's only 4.

Graffiti

2 garden posts to behold!

Oh no! Blogger remembers when you started a post, and hence my last year's "dark side" garden post is stuck down there below Daran's "Ruby snow" post. Check it out if you wish.

In the meantime, some gardening has been happening. I planted lettuce, spinach and pea seeds this past weekend, which was beautiful.

Also, my coveted neomerica plant bloomed. I should include a picture but that will have to wait.

Facebook killed the Blogger Star

El blogo here has been hibernating all winter long and I think the culprit is Facebook. Our chief writer has taken up the the Facebook thing and she's not been heard from since. Seems every woman in her thirties started a Facebook page last year. Here are a few photos to get us back in the blogging game!

Winter certainly has made its mark this year! After what seems like the gradual disappearance of serious cold or snow the last few years, this year has been one of the coldest on record (in most of the US). While it's been kind of annoying to deal with we did have the good fortune of having a little snow storm on January 20th, which shut down public works and schools. It was the first significant snowfall for Ruby and we enjoyed sledding, snowman building, snow angels, and lots of fun with neighborhood kids. But best of all, we were home to watch Barack Obama Day! It was great.

Snow angel on the deck

Clearing snow

Mom and Ruby in the falling snow

Ruby's first Santa meeting